I feel terrible every time I think about how long it has been since I last wrote something down about what's going on with our lives. Time is going by so quickly. Today Allie is six months old! I can't believe we have already had her for that long. She is such a happy little baby and loves it whenever we talk to her. She has a super cheesy smile and a great laugh, which we get to hear quite a bit. Allie thinks Zoey is absolutely amazing and cracks up anytime Zoey does anything even relatively silly. She can sit up, roll over both ways, loves to play with toys, and blows bubbles with her lips all the time. The first thing I hear every morning is Allie starting to blow raspberries. She usually doesn't even have her eyes open before she starts doing it. She blows bubbles when she laughs, when she cries, when she's bored, when she's excited...it's pretty funny. We get a real kick out of it! She is a champion eater and loves to eat baby food. We give it to her once a day, usually in the evening before bedtime and she is always thrilled. She will start whining for another bite before she's even swallowed the one in her mouth and grabs your wrist with both hands to bring the spoon to her mouth faster. Obviously the poor child is STARVING. All her little fat rolls would definitely lead you to that conclusion.
Zoey is so funny. She says hilarious things every day and is constantly surprising us with the stuff that comes out of her mouth. We are having adjustment issues with the baby again. She struggled when Allie was born, but then it got better for a while, but we are right back where we started with it all. I feel sad for her because I understand why she's acting out, but I also can't change that we have another child now and Zoey has to get used to sharing the spotlight and Mommy's attention. I hope that she always knows how much I love her and that I never wanted to make her feel less important to me. She is still my baby! I am hoping she and I can figure out this struggle together.
In other news, Grayson and my dad have started their own business recently called Beehive Property Solutions and they are trying to do some real estate sales. At this point, we are at the "praying it works out" part of the journey. Taking those first steps are so freakin' scary! I hope everything works out. We so desperately want to buy our own house!

Sam and Grayson Had Sickies

Saturday was a fun day. Grayson went shooting with his friend Luke in the morning and I met up with them for lunch at one of G's favorite Provo haunts. (It's some restaurant that makes tiny tacos and used to be a Winger's.) We went home and enjoyed an afternoon of cleaning. That evening, Grayson decided to take me on a date. Gardener Village is so awesome this time of year with the Halloween witches so we decided it would be a fun place to go. We walked around and looked at the witches, checked out some of the shops, and ate at Archibald's. We ordered breaded avocados which are DELICIOUS! I haven't stopped thinking about them since. Yum! I would highly recommend them. Anyway, Grayson wasn't feeling so hot, so we decided to head home.

Literally two hours after we got home, my little sister and Grayson were both laying on couches feeling crummy, poor babies. Around midnight, Katie started throwing up. Gross! Minutes after that, Grayson also began puking. Very gross! After I attended to their immediate needs (trash cans, saltine crackers, damp cloths, paper towels, glasses of water, etc.) I decided the whole thing was getting too yucky for me, so I headed off to bed. I felt so nauseated all night. I couldn't decide if it was because I was scared of getting sick myself or because I could hear Katie and Grayson throwing up.

It turned out that I was actually sick myself! I also started getting sick. Right after I started, Brady also began throwing up. Evidently, Sunday was a long day at our house. After testing for carbon monoxide poisoning, debating what could have given food poisoning, and discussing the similarities between all the sickies, everything came up zero. Apparently, we contracted a super-virus that spread like wildfire.

After 24 hours, we felt fine. Strange, very strange. My mom got sick at 3 am on Monday and was fine by Monday evening. Luckily, my dad avoided it completely. We're glad it's over!

I was exhausted Monday for reasons that have been explained in sometimes disgusting (sorry) details. My INSANE Literary Theory teachers posted our midterm Sunday morning, but I didn't get around to it, so I had to crank it all out on Monday in order for it to be turned in on time Tuesday. It was SUPER hard! I spent nine hours trying to answer her ridiculous essay questions! I'm glad this class is going to be over soon. Literary theory is the antithesis of fun. I've had wayyyy too much Derrida, Freud, Lacan, Saussure talk this semester. Philosophy sucks, I'm just saying.

I took my Brit Lit midterm last Friday. I got a 91! Go me! I am so good at reading. :)

Well, nothing else exciting has happened this week. Exciting updates coming soon!

Reach For the Sky!

I bought Rascal's Halloween costume today. There were quite a few cute selections. I've been trying to decide since July what the perfect Rascal costume would be. And the winner is...Woody from Toy Story! He doesn't hate this costume as much as he did last year when he was a pumpkin. He looked so cute, but I had to pin him in the costume really tight so he couldn't get out of it. (I am only an animal abuser one day a year, I promise! I love Halloween and I want to enjoy it while I pretend like Rascal loves it too.) I promise to post a picture later; I can't get my BB to send pictures to my email right now. I must figure out the problem...

Life Update

It's finally Fall! I have been anxiously waiting for October to get here, and lo and behold, it finally did! If only the weather would start to cooperate. I'm getting kind of tired of Summer-ish sunny-ness.

We've been busy, busy, busy! Last week was really fun for Grayson and I. We have been watching some classic scary movies and it's been really fun. We watched The Birds, Suspiria, and North by Northwest. It's been really fun to spend time together watching movies and hanging out. I have been OBSESSED with the show Pushing Daisies since it aired in 2007. It was cancelled after the second season, which destroyed my television watching experience. (Side note: it takes me a million years to find shows that I really enjoy watching. There are a total of 4 television shows I've actually really liked in my teenage/adult life-Saved By the Bell, Pushing Daisies, Glee, and 30 Rock.) Since Gray and I have a Netflix account (which is awesome and we'd highly recommend to anyone who A-loves to watch movies, but hates spending so much on renting every month B-hates using Redbox and C-hates the limited amount of time you have to watch rentals. I could do an entire post on how much I love Netflix!) we use the cool DVD for our PS3 and watched every episode of Pushing Daisies from start to finish. Yeah, my boyfriend sat through hours and hours of a cutesy TV show. He's so nice and awesome!

Grayson has been going to tons of interviews so he can get a job like a grown up. I think this is both neat and scary. I'm sure he'll get the job for every interview he goes to. He's got these crazy powers where he uses all his sophiticosity (better word for sophistication) to convince everyone that they can't live without him. Seriously, he's got employers tripping over themselves to hire him. I need to learn how he does this so I can get people to want to hire me one day. I try to imagine how his interviews go, but usually I end up imagining him hypnotizing the interviewer and sipping fruity juices with them while discussing why Grayson is so much better than everyone else. I assume this is not what actually happens, but for some reason, my brain wants me to believe this is, in fact, how he does it. Perhaps this is an omen that I will remain tragically unemployed my entire life.

In other Grayson news, he finally broke down and bought glasses. I've been worried about his eyes because he never takes out his contacts (NEVER) and I don't want him to be blind. We went and got two pairs of really awesome glasses. He looks so smart and cute! Everyone should be jealous.

Conference was this weekend and we definitely missed both sessions on Saturday (oops), but watched on Sunday. Gray was a good boy and went to the Priesthood session with my dad and brother. President Monson's talk on Sunday morning was really good and just what I needed to hear. I am really trying to work on having an attitude of gratitude and this talk refreshed my efforts. Yay Conference!

It was my Dad's birthday on Thursday last week. The old man turned 43! We went to Tepanyaki for a dinner celebration. The food was yummy and our chef did some cool egg tricks. Overall, it was pretty fun. Thanks for being born so we have something to celebrate, Dad!

Before I skip off, Rascal has also had a fun-filled week full of walks and snuggles. Yesterday, he was feeling a little depressed and had to snuggle for a while because of it. We went on a walk after that was over and he was back to his skippy, nutty, trouble-finding self. Yay Rascal!

Sorry this post is so long, I just have a million things to say about this last week! Tune in next time.

Rascal's Day

I go to school two days a week, which pretty much exhausts me! (I am SO pathetic! I can barely stand to do school for a measly 12 hours a week!) Grayson is working from home for Troy University still and consequently gets to spend a lot of time chilling at home. No one else is there on Tuesdays and Thursday apart from Grayson and Rascal; I've been wondering what these two do at home when I'm not there. This week, I got to see some of the things they do together during the day when they're at home all alone. I took a ton of pictures because A) Rascal is just too dang cute and B) Grayson is so sweet with him. He spends so much time trying to bond with my dog and I really love him for it!

They read the paper together.

Grayson bought Rascal this awesome toy a few weeks ago. It's a raccoon that we tied on the end of a dowel. Rascal will chase it around forever! I thought this picture was hilarious because it looks like Grayson has caught a fish!

Rascal getting ready to pounce.

Oh this silly dog! Every time he'd catch the raccoon, he would drag it off to the shade by the bush to make it squeak. Rascal doesn't like the squeakers in his toys and will attack them until he can get the squeaker out. This toy has two squeakers (which we are DETERMINED not to let him rip out) and it really freaked Rascal out that both the head and tail were squeaking.

One of Rascal's favorite things to do is snuggle on the couch. Grayson is so sweet to let Rascal nap by him.

How funny is this? Rascal's just kickin' back and is using Grayson as a recliner. I love the look on Rascal's face. HA!

Grayson loves to read and goes through books pretty quickly. Rascal loves it when someone will hold him while they read. So cute! (I should also mention that my door was really squeaky and driving me crazy, so Grayson fixed it for me. Hence, the can of WD-40.)

My cute boyfriend took me on a date to the Gateway on Saturday evening. We bought a delicious caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory that was covered in white chocolate and Oreos. It was super yummy!

We looked at some watches because I've decided I really want one. There was a really cute Fossil watch at Buckle, but I did the right thing and saved myself $115 by not buying it. I would like to *HINT HINT HINT* at Grayson about what I would like for Christmas.

We also went into LensCrafters to check out some of their glasses because Grayson needs new ones. We found a bunch of really cute ones, but the pair in the photo below are HANDS DOWN the winner!

I really love my sweet boyfriend! He is so awesome and I am so lucky to have him. :)

State Fair and Other Happenings

This week was so busy! Monday was Labor Day, which meant that I took it upon myself to do anything other than labor. It was nice. I avoided doing homework until later in the evening, which I was so excited about during the day, but regretted when I was still doing homework at 9:30 and Grayson wanted to watch a movie. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to have Jeffrey R. Holland's son, Matthew Holland, who is the President of UVU, come to speak in my American Lit class. He was really interesting to listen to, plus, I answered one of his questions and he told me I was smart! It sounds stupid now, but at the time, it was really exciting.

I also got a new phone this week, which I am loving! I'm finally a modern girl! That old green phone was seconds away from spontaneously combusting, I swear. I got a new Blackberry Curve, which is both cute and functional. I'll kindly display it in all it's adorable-ness below.

On Thursday, the State Fair opened. My country boy decided it would be a great idea to take me to see real pigs and sheep. Instead, we saw some sea lions. Yeah, random. The one who's sitting up in the picture tried to escape while we were watching them. I was really hoping it would make it off the stage, but the trainer caught it leaving. Sea lions are never allowed to have any fun, apparently.

Grayson is a great lover of the State Fair; I on the other hand, have not been to one since I was about four. It was an interesting experience for me. We saw all kinds of cool stuff and ate a really delicious corn dog. For a special treat, we bought a deep fried Twinkie, which was really yummy! Grayson couldn't resist the gyros that were there. It was like he could hear them calling his name from across the fairgrounds. Here he is, so excited to eat his gyro, minus tomatoes, of course.

My favorite part of the night was when Grayson took me to the Imagine Band show. They are a Beatles tribute group that was pretty fantastic! The guys dressed up like the real Beatles and spoke with British accents. I think I died and went to Heaven. There were quite a few crazy drunk dancers at the show, which added an authentic feel to the event. I chose to pretend they were actually hippies who were high. It felt a little like the 1960s at a real Beatles show. By the end of it, I couldn't resist the magic of the music and I was standing up and singing like a fool. It was great! Grayson wasn't even embarrassed to be with me. (Or at least he didn't act like he was, which was probably the right thing to do. Good call, Grayson!) We had so much fun spending time together. It was a really fun date night, so kudos to Grayson for dragging me out of the house. Although the picture isn't great quality, I still wanted to post it.

On Friday, we went to our Institute class for the first time this semester. I enrolled to get a free parking pass at the University...I mean, I enrolled for the rich spiritual blessings I would receive for being in an Institute class. It was pretty fun and not as terrible as I was thinking it could be. Our teacher is a really sweet old man and I liked him a lot.

Saturday night we couldn't think of anything to do, so we played fetch outside with Rascal the Wonderdog for a while. After Rascal was tired of that, we ran to the grocery store and bought the ingredients for cupcakes. Halloween is coming up after all, and I wanted to practice my Halloween cupcake making techniques before I had to do it for real. They turned out pretty cute. We had a good time baking/decorating them.

It's been a great week for Grayson, Rascal, and me! We're all excited that Fall is upon us and are looking forward to Halloween season!

Blogging & Books

So I've decided, once again, to attempt to blog about what's going on. I have nothing remarkable to say. My life is pretty much as ordinary as it gets, which both placates and depresses me. Hopefully, I will maintain this blog much better than the old one, as I would really like to remember the things that are happening in my life right now: school, dating, hanging out, oh and did I say school?

One day, I want to show a printed copy of this blog to my children when they are complaining about life and this can be my version of the "I had to walk to school uphill both ways in the snow everyday" story. I can just see myself pulling this out and saying, "See kids? Back in the old days, things were so much harder! I had to type on a computer to do my homework, can you imagine? It took hours! You have it so much easier now with that nano-chip in your brain that instantly records your thoughts for you..." Anyway, on to more important things.

The other day I had the rare opportunity to go through all the books I own. My mom bought this great bookshelf for the hallway that Grayson and I put together (go us!) and I wanted to put some of the books from my closet on it to clear out some space for the junk I keep in there. I found a lot of books that I have loved throughout the years, which put me in a nostalgic mood and I was able to find the books I've read that have helped to define me as a person. After I realized what I had just done, I really wanted somewhere to write it all down so I wouldn't forget. These books have become a part of me, and I hope that one day they will become a part of my children, as well.

1. Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber

This short picture book is about a little boy, Ira, who has his first sleepover at his best friend's house. Ira tries to be brave and not bring his teddy bear, Tah Tah along, but realizes in the middle of the night that he just can't do it and goes home for the stuffed animal. It's a really cute little story that my mom used to read to me before I went to bed at night. I had a blanket named Bingo that I couldn't leave the house without, so I really identified with this character and grew to love him as a child.

2. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary

Oh, how I love Beverly Cleary's books! This book is very important to me as it's the book my mom used to teach me to read. I still have the exact copy she used and I hope to use it to teach my own daughter to read one day. I have really fond memories of snuggling with my mom on the couch while I learned to read; it feels like it was happening just yesterday.

3. Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

I read this book as a third or fourth grader and have loved it ever since. The story is really touching and is a great "coming of age" novel for young girls. I learned a lot about how to have a good attitude from Hope and have never forgotten the message this book gives.

4. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

This book opened my eyes about how to be brave and always do the right thing, no matter how scary it is. The main character, Annemarie, lived during WWII in Copenhagen, Denmark and helped save her Jewish friend from the Nazis. I learned what it means to be a true friend from this short novel.

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I read this book as a young adult. My eyes were opened to a world of beautiful language and artistry when I read this novel. My passion was sparked and I realized that I really did want to teach English to teenagers, so they could share in the excitement I feel when reading a good book.

6. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

I learned about how to overcome all things by reading this life-changing book. I cried, I smiled, and I was amazed as I read the beautiful words of Viktor Frankl. Our attitude can change everything, even the most horrifying of circumstances. I wish I could thank the author in person for writing this.

Each of these books has really molded me into the person I am today. I feel so grateful to have grown up in a home where I was surrounded by good books. I owe my parents so much for cultivating and encouraging my love of reading. I hope everyone gets a chance to read these books and is as touched as I was by each of them.